Webinar: How to Jump Start a Sustainable Culture of Inclusion

I want to say welcome, welcome, welcome. This is the official start. We've been going for 10 minutes here just talking about life and all the topics that go along with it as we introduce this very, very important topic here of diversity, equity and inclusion. And it's an important topic, not because it's a big political topic right now. It seems it's very political in the United States, but it is a very important topic on a human scale, on a human stage that we value and honor and respect all people. And it's a sensitive topic as well. It's a sensitive topic for me personally. I'm the CEO of Titus Talent Strategies, and we're a talent strategy company. We help companies with their hiring and engagement and retention and development of their people. So you think, all right, you must be really strong in this area of understanding diversity, equity, inclusion, and all the dimensions of diversity. No, we are not. I came into the beginning of this year, this calendar year, saying this has not been a focus of ours as a company. I know it's terrible, shocking. But as somebody who is a business owner, an executive, and who is white, and I looked it in the mirror at myself and said, huh, do I like the way I view the world and do I like the way I view people all around me? Am I happy with that? And I was like, I really want to grow in this. And then from that point, looking at my company saying, huh, am I happy with how our company acts and behaves in this area and how intentional or not intentional we are? And I wasn't happy. And sometimes we need to bring in a coach. Today is the first day that I have actually met with a new fitness trainer to help me get fit. Because I want to be intentional about this, and I want accountability very similarly to that. At the beginning of this year, last year, I started reaching out to people who could help me as a coach, experts, people who understood this world, who I could meet with and be vulnerable with and say, I don't know what I'm doing in this area. I need help. I feel embarrassed. You know, have you ever sat with a financial advisor and said, here's my portfolio. I don't even know what that is, but here it's a mess. Help me out. You don't want somebody who's going to like, you suck. You should be ashamed of yourself. This is diabolical. You're going to end up in ruin. You know, like, I don't want. I don't want to meet with someone like that. And I did meet with some, and it Was hard. It was like, okay, I feel like you're going to beat me in this process. I really want help. I want to grow. I want to be committed. So one of the people that I met with an absolute privilege and delight to meet with, Beth Ridley. So I met with Beth multiple occasions. We brought her into our company subsequently and helping our leadership team and our company as a whole on our journey of diversity, equity and inclusion. And in talking with Beth, I thought it'd be great to. We thought it'd be great to actually open up kind of a behind the scenes look at some of the things that we navigated and just wanted to be open and vulnerable, but also just give Beth an opportunity to talk about how she's taken us through this journey. And it is a journey. We are not experts, but today is the least diverse we will ever be. That is my commitment and my commitment to everyone here who are listening on this webinar here today, you can follow our journey. And if you looked at us today, you might be like, what kind of authority are you to speak on this? I'm not. That's why I'm not speaking on it. Beth is so over to you. Beth Ridley, it's great to have you here.

Thank you so much. Jonathan. Good morning, everybody. I'm really happy to be here and to talk about this topic. And I think when Jonathan and I were talking about what would be helpful, we just kind of like I described it as we want to just pop the hood, right? So it's almost like look underneath and really start to understand, like, what does it take to be engaged in this work? Because I think unfortunately, diversity, equity, inclusion, you know, it can be an intimidating topic for people because I think for most people, they have really the best intentions and they're kind of afraid of maybe misstepping or saying the wrong thing. So they kind of like, are intimidated to even try or, Jonathan, like you said, if you're a white man, you might think, what business do I have, you know, even talking about this? Well, I'm going to encourage everyone. Everyone has business. This is everyone's business. Because after all, when we talk about creating cultures that are, you know, in the spirit of diversity, equity, inclusion, it means that we have to be inclusive of all diversity. And each person is made up of so many dimensions of diversity, which means we all have the ability to appreciate what it feels like to belong and not belong, to have aspects of ourselves that we think works as an advantage and not an advantage. And by the way, if white men don't Also be part of this conversation. It continues to fall on the shoulders of women and people of color and it's exhausting and it's also not inclusive. So the work that I do, the work that I've had the privilege of doing with you just through our conversations with your leadership team is really just to simplify and demystify what is diversity, inclusion all about and how can everybody relate to it and lead in this space very authentically. You don't have to be someone that you're not and you also don't have to feel like you have to be an expert in all the different cultures in the world. You're setting yourself up for failure. It's really about a mindset and just leading every day and practicing and demonstrating sort of inclusive mindset in your day to day.

Love it. Couple of housekeeping items, I just realized that I didn't cover any of those. Not my strength. Yes, we're recording this and we will send out the recording and the slides that that's going to cover today. Please do use the chat. There's a Q and A section at the bottom of your window where you can write a private question in here and we'll make sure we do our best to answer it during the webinar or at the end if you want to write in chat kind of your, you know, woo, woo, I'm on board with that. Or public questions, you can write that in there and we'll kind of, we have somebody monitor and making sure that we'll get to the addressing any issues, etc. Also, we are at the very end of this, we'll have some sort of check boxes that you can say, yeah, I want more information on this. I'd like to talk more about this. We'll make sure we follow up with you. Of course, at many webinars we want to be here as a resource and serve in the best way possible. That will be at the end of this. So if you've got a duck out early, we'll send you every registrant an email with following up. So. And then of course, Beth will be a resource for anyone afterwards. I'm here as well. I have a huge team around the country who can help with any of these things talent related. But carry on, Beth, you're doing great.

Yes. Yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah. So I think that's it, right? It's all about developing an inclusive mindset. And I think for leaders in the organization to take that first step to lead by example because you know, you set the tone for the culture. And I'll just share a couple of slides and then, Jonathan, maybe we can talk a little bit about how you get started with your journey and the role that I played to kind of accentuate some of these points. But I'll start first by just sharing that, you know, to me, you know, a lot of people are like, well, how do I build a sustainable culture of inclusion? I think that's the key word, sustainable. And it really starts first with the leaders in the organization deciding that this is important to them. Right. So, Jonathan, you said you sort of looked around and you were quite happy with what you saw, but intuitively you knew that having diverse perspectives and thought and really being able to like, harness the power of that diversity would be better for you as a human, which makes you better as a leader, which leads to better decision making. And better decision making always leads to better business outcomes. So I think the first step, when you're thinking about, like, what does this take to be sustainable? Again, it's not really hard work. It's just that it requires consistent work and doing small things daily. But it starts with leaders, leaders deciding that they've got their own why for them personally, for the business.

One of the things you said which.

Really struck home with me is that, Jonathan, you cannot outsource diversity and inclusion.

Yeah.

And I think that's often how I think, who can do this for me? Beth, you do it. You do it for me. And you're like, I'm not doing it for you. You have to own this. And I'm like, oh, okay, right. I can't hire somebody as a diversity and inclusion leader. It has to be culturally, through the organization. It has to be. Has to start with me believing and having a why. Why do I care? And I remember one of the sessions that you sat in with executive team. At the end of it all, I said, so? So why does it matter? Seriously? I just spent three hours and you're still asking why? And I was like, no, no, no. I was wrestling back and forth, like, how do I put this in a way articulate the power of the why? And you said, jonathan, you need to go away and spend some time writing your why. Why does it matter to you personally? And I was, oh, man. And it was great though, to come back. And I ended up with a two page kind of here's our journey inserted into our company's manifesto.

And you know what was powerful about that? So, like, anything, like, just like you said, going to the gym, you can hire a trainer, but the trainer is not going to lift the weights for you. So you have to have your why to make sure that you get up every morning when it's cold out. And it's your why that's going to keep you motivated. But you articulating it also motivates everyone else. And I said, at the end of the day, your workforce, your employees, your customers, the community that you interact with, they are moved by meaning and purpose. So it can't just be going through the actions. You have to tie it to the meaning and purpose. And by reflecting on that, you and your leadership team came up with a wonderful way of saying, when we think about the long term longevity of the firm and the work that you do and how you do your work. Again, bringing in diverse perspectives and being really good at, at bridging across differences. I mean, that's the work that you do. Bridging across differences is important for the success of your organization. And you guys were able to put that in words. And then it got everyone else really excited because it's like, oh, this work leads to a higher purpose in meaning. So I think, yes, starting with the why is the most important thing.

Brilliant. Yeah. So good.

So then, so why, Right. So we talked about the why and then we talked about, you know, that you actually really got started from a simple conversation that we had. Right. So you knew that you had a why. You were still a little intimidated, like how to move forward. What does that mean? And you started with conversation. So you had curiosity and courage, I think are the two most important things to start building this inclusive mindset, which is all about learning about, you know, the people around you. And I like to say that one of the things that sort of holds us back from being better in this space is that our own internal, implicit biases sort of get in the way. And we all have them. No one is immune from biases. It's just the way that our brains help us by processing so much information. We sort of go to and bucket stuff based on maybe a little bit of evidence or what we see on tv. You know, we don't have like a full spectrum of knowledge about everything. And so sometimes that sort of like holds us back. But the way to get better in terms of strengthening that inclusive mindset, I like to say, is to replace your biases and assumptions with empathy and understanding by increasing your data points of the human experience. And you can only do that by interacting with humans. And I think that's where it starts to fall apart. People are like, whoa, stop, I have to talk to people who are different. No, thank you. But with a little bit of courage and just simple curiosity to ask the questions that propelled you and that got you started on your journey.

I'll just say, because I'm sure so many of the attendees here would love this, but you gave out a worksheet for us to look at as a leadership team, and it's going through the company on the different spheres of influence and how diverse or not diverse they are.

Yeah, exactly.

Oh, my gosh. It was so good for me personally to look at that and. Oh, here it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you want this.

Yeah. I mean, so I think we have to understand a lot of people are like, well, where do I start to get better at this? And, you know, you can spend money on training, you can go to webinars and all of that, but I think the best place to start is just internally and reflect on your own social circles. Where do you spend most of your day, and who are you primarily interacting with? Right. And when you fill this out and you sort of think about, as I move through my day, who am I interacting with? With various dimensions of diversity, it could be, you know, put whatever you want on the top, but here's some basic ones, you know, gender, race, whatever. And then where you start to see sort of gaps may indicate where you might have implicit biases simply because you haven't had the opportunity to. To spend enough time with people who are different than you to really get the broad breath and appreciation and understanding and not fall back on limited interactions or limited information.

I know you're gonna cover this about confirmation bias, which is what? Especially in this area, you notice it politically, and we're not gonna talk about politics today, don't worry. But when you see both sides of the aisle, that's so far apart, but you hear the same news story covered from both sides, confirming their argument. It's really funny because we hear what we want to hear. Like, here's the situation. And you're like, wow, that's. I began looking at what am I listening to? And do I listen to both sides with understanding and empathy? And I'm not talking from our politics, but even just podcast. I love podcasts. I'm like a podcast fiend. And that's how I kind of see what's going on. And experts speak on things. But looking at which all of these podcasts I've listened to, did they just confirming the belief that I already have, or am I trying to get different. Different areas on the spectrum that'll be Challenging to my thought. That'll bring diverse thought and perspective to me and I'm not going to enjoy it. It's not pleasing to me to listen to because I got a stretch and I've got to work out a little bit here and working out stretches us. So that's really helpful.

That is very true. And I think that is why this, when people say this work, I think that's really what it comes down to. It's just that you sort of have to sometimes get uncomfortable being uncomfortable. But I think a lot of times people. Two thoughts on that. 1. A lot of times people think, well, if I'm engaging in this work, it means that I'm going to be forced to change my mind. That's not really it. I mean, you have to, I think, always seek to understand, not necessarily to agree. Those are two different things, right? You can broaden your perspective but still stay firm in your own views if in fact those are your beliefs. But that doesn't mean that you don't value having a different perspective. So you sort of have to get over that first. And then I would say the other thing that tends to hold people back is that sense of loss. Because when your closely held beliefs truly are challenged and in some cases you do start to question and wonder, there is a sense of loss in that. And it's almost like going through the grief process, right? So first you're in denial and you're angry and then you're sort of sad and remorseful and then maybe even there could be shame involved. And those are horrible, yucky, negative emotions that you know what, quite frankly, anyone would rather avoid them. But when you do go through the process and you can emerge from the other side, there is greater awareness, there is greater enlightenment. So in most cases it's worth it. And that also being able to go through that process every time you're confronted with difference and to lean into it, it makes us more resilient. And at the end of the day it makes us more interesting too because we just have a better appreciation for life experience outside of our own.

So we have a question here. Beth, this is great from Adam and I'll read the question and then I'm going to give a bit of a of tee up to how we process through this. So the question is, what are some ways we can reach those who don't necessarily think this is an important topic or would rather just focus on business? How do we prove that equity, diversity and inclusion is important to the overall success of the company or organization looking for specific examples or ways to reach those who will not be required to attend training or events. Now, I'll just. I'll tee this up a little bit here. I think often when you. When we're being told that we're not good at something in human nature, we can be a little bit defensive. So. And I may be just speaking from my own personal experience, but, no, I'm not that bad, you know. You know, we get into this defense mode, like, I have diverse neighbors. You know, what are we even talking about here? Why are you. Why are you going to that? We're talking about our business here, you know, and so we can be a little bit defensive. And so I think that in these areas here is actually coming to the point of saying, celebrating what we do have. And this was masterfully done by Beth with our team. She started talking about, oh, let's start tackling some little issues and celebrate what we do have. And so then those who would maybe, maybe have had a defensive stance started to go, yeah, we're not that bad. And it opened up their lives a little bit to be able to receive from some of the great statistics that Beth, actually, it was just statistics, but the story she was able to unpack for us to see the value of bringing diversity, equity, and inclusion as a business imperative that was going to help us grow, which, I'll be honest, I felt a little bit like, a bit slimy, like, so we're doing this so we can make more money. You know, it felt like it's a business imperative, and it's. It's great, you know, not just a moral, moral imperative. It's a business imperative. I'm like, ooh, I don't want to monetize this. That wasn't. What was. That was kind of laid out by Beth explained that's not what we're doing here. We're seeing the value of this to make us better as humans. Maybe you talk about that, Beth. So the question how we do that.

I'll hit on a couple of things. So I do know that, you know, a lot of companies are sort of, like, leaning into this work, especially because of what has been going on in our country over the summer with the death of George Floyd. And people are kind of leaning in more from a sense of community. And I would say kind of like a moral imperative. I'm going to say the truth of the matter is, though, that it only really becomes sustainable on an ongoing basis if there is also a business imperative to it as well. And so I will share with you just some, some brief stats in terms of, like, why this is actually good for business. So there is ample research and evidence at this point that shows that diverse and inclusive cultures lead to higher, better business outcomes. So to the question in the chat box, how do you get people who are not necessarily oriented this way anyway to care? This may be one place to start. And I think the best way, the most intuitive way to explain it is again, if you look at any challenge or opportunity from multiple perspectives, right, you're going to have more thoughtful decision making. More thoughtful decision making leads to better outcomes. Better outcomes leads to better performance. So I think that's one thing to think about. So there is the moral and the business imperative to it as well. But I also like to talk about this as a leadership competency. I think that's really important too, because again, that might be a way for people who just aren't oriented to care about this. I mean, everybody wants to be a better leader. And so again, I think if you can factor in diverse perspectives into your own personal decision making, it makes you smarter, it makes you creative, it leads to better innovation. Honestly, it leads to just being more interesting, being able to have more emotional connection with people. Those are all qualities of great leaders. And then the last thing that I'm going to leave you with to kind of think about and answer that question would be give me one more second to bring up another slide. Is that again, I want everyone to think about how they can be part of the conversation around diversity, equity, inclusion, again, because a lot of times we think that, again, if you're a white man, maybe you don't have the opportunity to engage. And so as soon as I can get this back onto my share mode, you guys can see my screen. But hang on just one second, let me turn that off for one sec. One sec, one sec. You know what? Slide I'm going to share, right, about the many dimensions of diversity. Okay, so wait for it, everybody. It's good. Wait for it.

This was very helpful for us.

Here we go. Here we go. Okay, get back on here. Okay, so the many dimensions of diversity, this one, this one I think really resonated with your group, right? Because I think a lot of, again, people are like, I'm white, I'm a man. What does this have to do with me? The very first important thing that you have to do when you're stepping into this space is broaden the definition of diversity for a couple reasons. One, when you only focus on those primary dimensions, the ones that we can see one you just sort of underestimate the richness that every human brings into the room. Right. So as an African American female, I will say being a woman, being a person of color are really important to me. But frankly, probably the least interesting things about me, and I think everybody can say that as well, right? About all the dimensions of diversity that make each of us, there are some that are more important to how we define ourselves, and they may not be the same as how other people see and define us. And so you minimize people when you only focus on the primary dimensions of diversity. The other thing is when you broaden the definition of diversity, again, you show that this work is about creating cultures where everyone feels that they can be themselves, because everyone at some point has felt that something about them, their background, the way that they were raised or grew up, their personal life experience is different, perhaps not as valued as those around you. And so when you broaden the definition of diversity and say, we're all working towards creating an environment where we all feel valued, a sense of belonging, true connection and appreciation, you can see where everybody can see where they would benefit, and therefore more people are likely to want to contribute.

This was really helpful for us and for us as a company, and it made it into sort of the practical side of our journey. A statement on journey. Statement's a terrible word, but it was a. A guiding post for our journey over the year, the next three to 10 years. Because remember, I was talking about steps. It's just taking a step forward. It's not, you can't do this at once. You can't go, oh, my gosh, how do I get to the fifth dimension of diversity tomorrow? You know, it's just not going to happen.

You know, And I would also caution, like, a lot of people are like, quick, we don't have primary dimensions of diversity. Go hire people that don't look like us. I would say maybe pump your brakes on that one a little bit. Do the work to understand what's the hidden diversity that you're not quite uncovering with the people that you have, and start practicing inclusive behaviors there. Because it doesn't matter what dimension of diversity you practice inclusion with. It's the same muscle. You're developing that muscle memory. So then when you do bring in someone from the outside who looks very different, they're going to be walking into an environment that feels more inclusive than it would have prior to doing this work. So I would say practice with whatever diversity that you have. You will always benefit.

I think a couple of things on that One is, it was great. We had Beth in for some live workshops. I was looking around the room going, wow, that's your story. That's just. That's a diverse thought and perspective.

Do you remember the very first exercise that we did? The very first exercise? We ended up spending 40 minutes on it. I was like, I didn't think we're going to spend that long. It was to go around and just share something about your name.

Yep.

And the funny thing is you all work together, you know each other, you didn't know the story that everyone had about their name. And I was like, I love this exercise because it just exemplifies what inclusive behaviors are that you can practice and demonstrate on a daily basis. Pausing, being curious and asking. And you will always be surprised, usually pleasantly surprised, what you find out. And so you guys had the best time learning about your name and how you couldn't pronounce your name when you were little. We just, we had fun and so we spent a lot of time on that. And so it can be really, to the question in the chat, just let people know that this work is actually personally rewarding and fulfilling because at the end of the day, you're deepening relationships with the people that you work with at a minimum. And, and that is, you know, meaningful relationships with others is one of the things that gives us purpose and meaning in life.

Yeah, that was, that was a really helpful exercise. It sounds like somebody here in the, in the chat here is saying as well, one of the other things is those dimensions of diversity, part of our sort of statement or guidepost of growing in diversity, equity and inclusion in the years to have years to come. We actually put that graph in there. You show the kind of the wheels and the dimensions of diversity, because I want everyone in the company realize this is kind of where we want to grow in, in all of these areas holistically. Not just. And please don't mean to be crass in this, but the kind of the photo op marketing version of diversity, because that is everywhere and it's kind of, it's laughable at times. Oh, wow, you hit all of the outward. Great. You must be so diverse in your thought perspective. It's not really, it doesn't mean that, you know, you could have all, you know, you can, you can have a very, very diverse family of a whole bunch of adopted people from around the world, different backgrounds, and when you do it well. And so, yeah, that was really helpful for us to actually put this in our guiding post and the map of our future where we're going and then because we're intentional about it now, now. And you feel a bit of a. I do feel like a bit of a phony at times. Like, I'm just new to this thing, you know, say, hey, I'm new to this. Committing to walk on this journey. Forgive me if I make a blunder. Forgive me if I say something that's wrong and offensive. But I'm coming with this posture of humility. I want to learn, I want to understand, I want to have empathy, I want to grow. Can you. Can we talk? Can we dialogue here? And that's been really helpful. Even we just, you know, talking with people who are coming into an organization with us in our recruiting and interview process, bringing up this and saying this is really important to us. Tell me some things about you on here that make you unique and special and where does your diverse thought and perspective. You think, really? I'm going to say that, yeah, because.

I can, you know, I like to tell people, you, most people have the foundation to lead with an inclusive mindset. Because really, I think way that you want to be treated. Right. That is a good start. And then I would say just plus it up a little bit by then having the curiosity and courage to ask someone how they actually want to be treated and then flexing your style in that way. And Jonathan, you're a master. A lot of times people, they may be curious, but then it stops there because they're like, I don't want to say the wrong thing. I don't want to come across as stupid. Or even if I'm interested and I want to learn about people who are different than me, it could feel intrusive or weird. So I like to arm people with like, really, at the end of the day, if you use these three phrases and if you're asking questions out of genuine compassion and curiosity, people feel that and they know it and they're very, very forgiving. Because even if you stumble over your words and it doesn't come out perfectly, they can feel that you're interested in their thoughts. So I would always say, no matter what you want to ask to learn and grow. And I think, Jonathan, you sort of just do this intuitively is I'm curious to know. It's a great way of opening up the door without assuming anything. Right. And then follow up by tell me more. Which basically gives someone the opportunity to share whatever is important for them and then thanks for sharing and then hopefully reciprocating. Right. Because it takes being inquisitive and Curious, but also vulnerable and sharing. And that's how you actually start creating the dialogue and, and you know, you're not going to solve the world or learn everything you need in the one conversation, but it opens the door for a second, third, fourth, fifth conversation.

And I think that was helpful, super helpful. Getting these kind of muscle memory on using these. Been a life changer for me. I think somebody said in the chat said, how do you get other. How do you get people who maybe don't see the value? And I know you talked about some of the stats and the values to the business case, but getting to feel confident that it's just growing them as an individual with things like this. They go, oh, I'm going to practice that. And suddenly I'm okay, now I can. Been a life changer for me. I think somebody said in the chat said, how do you get other, how do you get people who maybe don't see the value? And I know you talked about some of the stats and the values to the business case, but getting to feel confident that it's just growing them as an individual start working out in this area. That's been really helpful. I know you have kind of 18 month programs of getting companies to move on their journey in diversity, equity and inclusion, which is great, but sometimes just this little teaser workshop that can suddenly jumpstart everyone to go, okay, we can do this. And I can see the value because.

I think a lot of times when people are armed with these little things.

With things like this, they go, oh, I'm gonna practice that. And suddenly I'm okay, now things again.

That you can do daily, they can take it from there. Like a lot of times it's like, oh, let me at least practice this. And with most things it gets easier with practice and more comfortable. I think a lot of times people worry about, well, what if the conversation goes wrong or I damage a relationship.

And so start working out in this area, that's been really helpful. I know you have kind of 18 month programs of getting companies to move on their journey in diversity, equity and inclusion, which is great.

I say don't focus on what could go wrong, focus on what could go right. And will it always go right? No, I can't guarantee that, but more often than not it will. And I've never been disappointed. I mean I'm a practitioner, but I'm also active.

Sometimes just this little teaser workshop that can suddenly jump start everyone to go, okay, we can do this. And I can see the value because.

I think a lot of times when people are armed with these little things. Working on this myself, there are definitely differences that make me uncomfortable and I have to challenge myself to open the door for conversation. And I'm never disappointed when I do. You know, it just takes a while to sort of muster up the courage. But these are almost like foolproof phrases to use.

I am such an assumptive communicator.

I'm like, so tell me, is your position this or this? Like, I'm given two options. Like there are many other options and I get it.

I'm gonna give you. So this is sort of like when you're ready to tings again that you can do daily. It's. They can take it from there. Like a lot of action, back up a little bit and there are getting in the right mindset, right. So I call this inclusive communication. Sort of maybe like guiding principles around how to communicate. So the first thing is I talked about just make sure that you have genuine curiosities. So what is your intention for engaging in dialogue? Is it to argue your point or is it to broaden your understanding? And then the next one is similar, but it's always seek to understand, not to agree. This one's really hard. Like I came from the corporate world and I was sort of trained. Like every time I opened my mouth, it was to get people to agree with me. Otherwise why am I opening my mouth? And so I think in our culture we're still at customs. It's like, oh, let me at least practice this. And with most things it gets easier with practice and more comfortable. I think a lot of times people worry about, well, what if the conversation goes wrong or I damage a relationship? And so like we see on the news all the time, there is no like seeking to understand. It's all I say, don't focus on what could go wrong. Focus on what could go right and you know, will it always getting your point across and you can see sort of what's happening when no one's listening. So always seek to understand. Assume that there's always something to learn. Demonstrate patience and respect. And it's a big world out there. Your perspective is just one. It's just your perspective. Other people have the right to think what they think. And then I just, you know, express acknowledgement. A lot of times someone will be talking and ways go right? No, I can't guarantee that. But more often than not it will. And you know, I've never been disappointed. I mean, I am, you know, I'm a practitioner, but I'm also active with like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But, well, that just immediately negated whatever they said. Just say, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I see it this way, and I think just practicing this and this is something that you can do tomorrow, today, in your next meeting. And if you start doing this in meetings, you will eventually start having different and better meetings because people feel more comfortable speaking up. Think about how many times you've been in a meeting and because of the dynamics in the meeting or whatever, you don't say something, you have then withdrawn. Me working on this myself, there are definitely differences that make me uncomfortable and I have to challenge mine from sort of the bank of perspectives that you need to make better decisions. So when companies can create an environment where people are comfortable with bringing their true perspectives and thoughts and not feeling embarrassed or that they're going to be shamed or whatever or yelled at or shot down, you're going to get better input. Better input is better output.

Yeah, this is great.

I mean, right here on this slide.

There'S free marriage therapy right there. If you follow this stuff, it's a.

Transform all relationships myself to open the door for conversation. And I'm never disappointed when I do. You know, it just takes a while to sort of muster up the courage. But these are almost like foolproof phrases to be used.

It's not just business relationships. This is the world. I think, as somebody just put here in the chat as well, that yes.

The world is going with this.

Radical conversations with less respect. How extreme can we be on both sides? You know, devil's advocate in everything.

And look at how well. Look at how well that's working. I mean, that is unsustainable. I don't know where that's going to head, but. And by the way, it's just exhausting.

All right, we have a few questions here. Hopefully I'm not derailing it.

I'm such an assumptive communicator.

I'm like, so tell me, is your position this or this? Like, I'm given two options. Like there are many other options and I'm here, but okay, I'm going to read the first one here. I completely understand your assertion of valuing the diversity already in the workplace.

However, due to homogeneity, we know that.

Increasing innovation will also require a deep look at the primary dimension of diversity.

I get it all the time.

I'm going to give you. So this is sort of like when you're ready to take action, back up a little bit and there are getting in the right mindset. Right. So I call this inclusive communication sort of maybe like guiding principles around how to communicate. So the first thing is I talked about just make sure that you have genuine curiosity. So what is your intention for engaging in dialogue? Is it to argue your point or is it to broaden your understanding? And then the next one is similar, but it's always seek to understand, not to agree. This one's really hard. Like, I came from the corporate world and I was sort of trained. Like every time I opened my mouth it was to get people to agree with me. Otherwise why am I opening my mouth? And so I think in our culture we're so accustomed, like we see it on the news all the time. There is no like seeking to understand.

How might we also guide this conversation with our company?

Mm.

Well, I don't think you should ignore or avoid the primary dimensions of diversity.

To that it was an anonymous attendee who asked the question. So I don't know who you are, but I would happily just take 20 minutes or just. I will personally share with you our journey guiding principle. It's a document really, but two pages outlining of how we're going to grow in diversity, equity and inclusion over the next three plus years. And it's very practical. It's kind of a visionary perspective, but then also a tactical plan and a strategic plan mixed in there. So I'd happily share that. I don't really want to stick it out online because it's vulnerable and personal. From the angle of I just don't want to deal with everyone's criticism. So I'm sure people could tear it apart. But I shared it with my council of advisors personally, outside of the company, who are leaders in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion. I weighed it through with Beth and said, come on, poke holes in this. I don't know if I'm right or not. This is kind of my perspective. I had a leadership team weigh on it. But you're welcome to. You reach out to me and say, jonathan, I'd love to get that. You can hit me up on LinkedIn. You can hit me up. My email address will be at the end. I would happily share that with you. I'll just email. We don't have to a phone call about it. I can send it to you in an email if anyone wants to see it. But understand there's that level of vulnerability as well. I don't want to be blasting out on the Internet.

No, that makes sense. And I would also say, you know, you all had done the work to explain all of the different dimensions of diversity that you have going on, you saw where some gaps were even outside of the primary dimensions of diversity. And that's important work to do because what you may end up doing and then is hiring a person of color other than that they have all the same background and experience, like everyone went to the same college. And so you're not necessarily increasing diversity in that regard. So you want to look. You really want to look broad because every person that you bring into the organization is bringing all aspects of them. Don't minimize somebody by assuming that because they look a certain way, they're gonna bring this. And then also, don't underestimate what your culture really is like behind what people see. They're gonna come in and they're gonna feel their culture a certain way depending on the hidden dimensions of diversity that you have or don't have.

Yeah. Okay, I'm going to give another question here. This is great. If we do not acknowledge that some companies tend to focus recruitment and hiring of people that look and act like them, the needle will not move with D and I. What are your thoughts?

Yes, I would agree with that. And so this is where then diving deep into sort of your recruiting and your hiring process will lead to different outcomes. So you keep doing the same thing, you're going to have the same outcomes. But I think you really want to think about, look at everything that you're putting out from the job description and how it's worded, maybe where it's posted. Most importantly, the personal relationships that everyone in your company has. You will get more diverse hires and applicants when everybody has a diverse network, because that's generally where your sort of your best and your top talent comes from. So I would say do the work first of building diverse networks and relationships to help with that. But everything makes a difference in terms of how you're presenting yourself. The criteria that you're using that are important for the job, are they must haves or are they need to haves? Can you broaden the criteria that you're looking for? And then can you also broaden who's involved in the interview process so you don't succumb to your implicit biases? And your confirmation bias there is, oh, they went to the same school as me. They must be awesome. So, I mean, you really want to think about each and every little step along the way? And again, that's when you have this inclusive mindset, and you use that mindset as a leadership competency. You look at every decision from a more inclusive lens. Right. And so you Move from being only very comfortable with what you're used to. You're sort of in that monocultural phase to your intercultural. Like you're still uncomfortable with difference, but you value it. Your eyes are open to it. You don't minimize it. And you use that to inform every decision. You will never look at a job posting the same way again. Once you sort of exercise this muscle, you will notice things that are like, might this be reducing or shrinking the applicants who could be interested how we're positioning it?

Nailed it. This is huge.

To the person who asked that question, this is really helpful. We get majority of our hires internally internal referrals, and they're great. Internal referrals are great. They perform higher. They seem to be more engaged. They hit the ground running fast.

I love them. They're easy hires because they come in.

And they got the buddy system. And I want to do a great job for you because you brought me in here. Their families know that.

They both, you know, hey, my buddy.

My friend, my old colleague, whatever got me this great new job. And it's kind of. There's a greater level psychological engagement, but most.

Here's the biggest challenge for me was that slide that Beth showed about your personal areas, personal circles of diversity of thought and perspective. It's just reflective of if internal referrals are your majority of your hires, which is for us, that our circles are very. Not exclusive, I guess, non inclusive or non diverse. Non diverse is a better word.

Okay.

They're not as diverse as we want them to be. So the challenge is not like, what are we doing as a company in this. Well, what are we doing as individuals to increase our diverse circles.

Yeah, 100%. I mean, to me, that's the best recruiting strategy. And I always. I do have to sort of, as a woman of color, do sort of chuckle, you know, because people will say, we can't find any black people. And I'm like, there's so many. Like, I know a lot. So I think, you know, you just start to prime the pump and you. If you, you know, if everybody has a little. If everybody broaden their networks and their relationships to be a little bit more diverse, just think of, think of the exponential impact that that will have when you're recruiting and looking for referrals and everything like that. But, you know, that takes time. It's not like all of a sudden you're ready to post and hire and you can turn that on. And that's why the sooner you can engage, the better this.

Some of the questions Popping up here right now around. I'll call it meritocracy. And I think this is really important. And this is where, hey, I am an expert at this. Our company's an expert at this. We may not be an expert in the dei, but we're an expert when it comes to getting the right people in the right seats. Hiring performance, hiring for performance, and managing for performance. I'll call it that. The point in hiring people. Why do we hire people? We hire people to get a job done. Unless you're in the government. No, I'm just kidding. But the reason we have a. Sorry, I'm kidding. Government employee. I'm joking. Completely joking. I have a lot of respect. I do. So if the point in hiring people is that the job gets done, what is the job that you need to get done? What are the values that you have by behavior? Make sure that you have someone who looks through the lens at your values or your cultural behavioral norms that says, with the lens of De and I, are these discriminatory or not? Am I excluding people because of our values? Who can do the job? Because the point in hiring is that a job gets done. So our point in hiring people isn't diversity and inclusion. That's not. Most companies don't exist for diversity and inclusion. We exist to meet some kind of a need to serve a product or a service. So if we're clear on performance, then we can be clear through the whole thing of, hey, we're going to hire people who are going to get the job done. The best person for the job, the best person to get the job done. Now, we really long for diverse thought and perspective in it because there is a betterment of our company and a betterment of our service because we serve a global customer base and we need all of those dimensions. It's like when they. When they first created the airbag, women and children were getting pummeled because they were designed by men engineers. They didn't have diverse thought and perspective in the design process, and they had it. Why? Why is this all these injuries happening? Because you had a lens of one person, you know, you weren't thinking about other people's, how it would impact other people. So think is really, really important. But so for us at Titus, we're really clear on a process around hiring for performance with a longing for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion. And we're really clear on meritocracy being the way we promote people. But looking at everything we do going, do we create equal opportunity for everybody on our team to have to be promoted or grow in their career. Those who want to by merit. By merit. And not just be like, well, look at this one. Let's move them into this road. And everyone else is going.

And I would say also by just asking what. What people need to succeed and be successful. Because again, the many dimensions of diversity, we're all coming from different backgrounds and experiences. So, I mean, that question should be asked to everybody. And the best that you can make adjustments so that everybody. You know what I mean? Like, treating everybody the same assumes that there are no differences. We are all different. So the simple question of what do you need to be successful? And finding out and seeing how you can incorporate that, because ultimately you do want everyone to be successful. I think that's just like the one little addition to add to that.

Love it. Love it.

Everybody the same. Assumes that there are no differences. We are all different. So the simple question of what do you need to be successful? Successful, and finding out and seeing how you can incorporate that, because ultimately you do want everyone to be successful. I think that's just like the one little addition to add to that.

Love it. Love it. All right, try and tackle some more questions here. This is great. It seems that people are enjoying this. Getting some good comments here. I'm trying to tackle some more questions here. This is great. Seems that people are enjoying this. Getting some good comments here. But regarding the dimensions of diversity and the spreadsheet with the different diversity categories, are you suggesting that we ask our employees to share all of those things with the firm example? I don't think that we can or should track sexual orientation religion. Regarding the dimensions of diversity and the spreadsheet with the different diversity categories, are you suggesting that we ask our employees to share all of those things with the firm example? I don't think that we can or should track sexual orientation religion. Okay, Seems like a HR violation. Okay, over to you, Beth.

So, yeah, I'm not necessarily an HR expert, so I would definitely check with hr and usually some of those things, it's more like, I guess if people self select. But I don't necessarily. I wasn't showing that chart necessarily to say that that has to be, like, built.

Okay, seems like a HR violation. Okay, over to you.

So, yeah, I'm not into your policies and procedures. I was just showing that to show that when we talk about diversity, we're not only talking about the usual categories that people start the conversation with, which in this day and age is probably race and also gender. I just want people to recognize that this Conversation about diversity is not necessarily an HR expert. So I would definitely check with HR and usually some of those things it's more like, I guess if people self select. But I don't necessarily, I wasn't showing that chart necessarily to say that that has to be like built when inclusion is inclusive of everybody because everybody has many dimensions of diversity. So was not suggesting that this has to be a formal policy or practice or anything like that. But it's how you tee up this topic and how you broaden the engagement so that if you have sort of people who are resistant in saying why this is, this has nothing to do with me, they can start to see that it has something to do with everybody.

Yeah. And again, for those of you who want to see our journey kind of outline vision document, I cover that in there as well, saying, hey, we're going to grow in these things. And there was definitely dialogue, I mean there was some great dialogue with our team members saying what about this? How's this going to be a focus.

Into your policies and procedures? I was just showing that to show that when we talk about diversity we, we're not only talking about the usual categories that people start the conversation with, which in this day and age is probably race and also gender. I just want people to recognize that this conversation about diversity right now versus.

This and it was challenging and it wasn't a perfect clean cut. Here it is. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm new at this.

Like most things are. I think in the business world, the world is so complicated, nothing is clear cut. But again, practicing those inclusive communication skills, allowing people to share their thoughts and opinions, you guys actively practice that in the conversation about where do we go with this work? And I thought you got some really good. Inclusion is inclusive of everybody because everybody has many dimensions and perspectives. And that led to a very thoughtful conversation which led to a very thoughtful byproduct from that.

Yeah, that's great. Okay, so here's a sensitive one, I think. How do we address leadership diversity?

So was not suggesting that this has to be a formal policy or practice or anything like that, but it's how you tee up this topic and how you broaden the engagement so that if you have sort of people who are resistant and saying why this is, I'm.

Assuming the people who are leading that has fears that engaging in DE and I may alienate certain people in the company who don't share those values.

Well, again, I think it is going back to some of these core principles that have Nothing to do with me. They can start to see that it has something to do with everybody we've been talking about. It's about all dimensions of diversity and making sure that everything that makes all of us unique.

And again, for those of you want to see our journey kind of outline.

We feel comfortable in that we can bring our best selves to work. And it's a leadership competency because at the end of the day we are all diverse. I mean this is just like not going away. And so to really be good leaders, to bring out the best in everyone that leads to better decision making, you have to be skilled at being able to bridge differences, even those differences that make you uncomfortable, because again, they are not going away. And so I would really sort of focus on that. We're strengthening our own leadership competency and there are simple, easy ways that we can do that. A lot of it comes down to how we communicate with one another. And are we sort of creating the space where we can allow everyone to share their thoughts and opinions and bring forth their own personal experience and decide, you know, again, not necessarily have to agree, but respect anyway and always strive to learn.

Yeah, this is great, great question. Okay, we are coming up on soon on time. I'm going to share some next steps here as well. But we have a few more, few more questions popping in here.

And I do, I will care for a couple of next steps. If people are wondering like what to do next based on this conversation document.

I cover that in there as well, saying, hey, we're going to grow in these things. And there was definitely dialogue. I mean there was some great dialogue with our team members saying what about this? How's this going to be a focus right now versus this? And it was challenging and it wasn't a perfect clean cut. Here it is. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm new at this.

Like most things are. I think in the business world, the world is so complicated, nothing is clear cut. But again, practicing those inclusive communication skills, allowing people to share their thoughts and opinions, you guys actively. And so I think one Jonathan talked us that in the conversation about where do we go with this work. And I thought you got some really good perspectives and that led to a very thoughtful conversation. And we sort of started out with your why. So, you know, reflect on your personal why and why that matters and that can help guide you in terms of, you know, why you're investing this time and where you want to go. Go back and reflect on your missing dimensions of diversity in your own personal social circles. That can definitely be a place to start. Which led to a very thoughtful byproduct from that.

Yeah, that's great. Okay.

To uncover where could you benefit from just having conversations so that you can learn and practice. Practice having those. What it takes to have those conversations and practice some of those inclusive communication skills. I think that's some great next steps.

Love it. So here's a sensitive one, I think. How do we address leadership? Assuming the people who are leading that has fears that engaging in DE and I may alienate certain people in the company who don't share those values. Love it, love it, love it. Okay, a couple more questions here. Popping in and. Okay, so we've got Beth's slide up here. Sorry. Bear with me. Tracking diversity categories can be important, but can also be abused. Any thoughts on protecting this data so it's not abused?

Well, again, I think it. Yeah, that's a really good question. I'm going to have to defer that to your HR and your information systems people to make sure. So, yes, all of this is sensitive information and you want to be careful about that. So I am not going to give you specific tips or instructions because I want to let people, the experts be able to weigh in on that. Is going back to some of these core principles that we've been talking about. It's about all dimensions of diversity and making sure that everything that makes all of us unique. That is a good thing to be thinking about.

Good. That was very tactfully handled. So if you wouldn't mind, stop sharing your screen here. Take a screen of this, but I'm going to share one, one screen here. As we wrap up here. Give back a little bit of time for some of the attendees, but massively appreciate this. You are entering into the first of a three part webinar series for us at Titus Talent Strategies on this topic. And it is a. Did I cut out there? Are you guys okay?

Yeah, that cut out on me a little bit.

Okay.

We feel comfortable in that we can bring our best selves to work. And it's a leadership competency because at the end of the day, we are all diverse. I mean, this is just like not going away. And so to really be good leaders, to bring out the best in everyone, that leads to better decision making, you have to be skilled at being able to bridge differences, even those differences that make you uncomfortable, because again, they are not going away. And so I would really, you know, sort of focus on that. We're strengthening our own leadership competency and there are simple easy ways that we can do that. A lot of it comes down to how we communicate with one another and are we sort of creating the space where we can allow everyone to share.

I don't know why I'm freezing up here. So you. I was just saying that this is the beginning of a throw three part journey for Titus three part webinar series. We are going to meeting next week as well and for the next phase of our webinar series and it is on the topic My computer's freezing up. I don't know why this is but we've got Next week is lead like a human Fostering engagement through diversity and inclusion. So November 5th at 11am Central featuring Adam Weber and Kambula Masaka of Emplify. So we will be sending out an email right following this. If you would like an introduction to Beth Ridley personally I would happily make introduction to her. Obviously she should put her contact details up.

Yeah Jonathan, I also put in a chat, a link. I have a lot of like complimentary resources on how to get started with diversity, equity, inclusion. So I just put a link to that in the chat so people can have that too.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. That's share their thoughts and opinions and.

Bring forth their own personal experience and decide, you know, again not necessarily have to agree but respect anyway and always strive to learn.

Yeah, this is great, great question. Okay. We've brought Beth Ridley in to help us on our journey. She has a number of different packages from individual sessions through kind of 18 month implementation and grow on the journey which has been. I'm very excited about that. If you'd like to learn any more ways on how Titus can help you with getting the right person and hiring top talent with a folk. We are coming up on soon on time. I'm going to share concerns on diversity and inclusion. We can certainly help with that. And lastly if you want a more information about some of the other educational offerings that Titus has from webinar and training series around hiring and performance management we would love to have that conversation with you as well. Just double checking here the next steps here as well. But we have a few more few more questions popping in here and.

I do I will share a couple of next steps of people are wondering like what to do next based on this conversation.

Any last questions? It doesn't look like there is and I don't know if I've even frozen.

Or not but I can't see. I personally can't see you. I don't know what happened. Jonathan.

Oh, so sorry you're Gonna have to manage the rest of your day without that last visual of the eye candy. So, hey, thank you. Thank you for everyone who joined.

And so I think, you know one.

Jonathan, it is a privilege to enter into your world and have you enter into our world and our journey. This is a real commitment of ours and with a vulnerability and a posture of we don't know what we're doing right at the beginning. But it's been very helpful to have a coach and a guide in Beth Ridley. So thank you very much.

And we sort of started out with your why. So, you know, reflect on your personal why and why that matters and that can help guide you in terms of why you're investing this time and where you want to go. Go back and reflect on your missing.

That is all. Have a great rest of your day, everyone.

Thank you so much, Jonathan. Thank you, everybody. Nice to meet you.

Thanks, Ben.

Mentions of diversity in your own personal social circles. That can definitely be a place to start to uncover where could you benefit from just having conversations so that you can learn and practice. Practice having those. What it takes to have those conversations and practice some of those inclusive communication skills. I think that's some great next steps.

Love it, love it, love it, love it. Okay, a couple more questions here popping in and. Okay, so we've got Beth's slide up here. Sorry, bear with me. Tracking diversity categories can be important, but can also be abused. Any thoughts on protecting this data so it's not abused?

Yeah, that's a really good question. I'm going to have to defer that to your HR and your information systems people to make sure. So, yes, all of this is sensitive information and you want to be careful about that. So I am not going to give you specific tips or instructions because I want to let the experts be able to weigh in on that. But that is a good thing to be thinking about.

Good. That was very tactfully handled. If you wouldn't mind, stop sharing your screen here. Take a screen of this. But I'm going to share one screen here as we wrap up here. Give back a little bit of time for some of the attendees, but massively appreciate this. You are entering into the first of a three part webinar series for us at Titus Talent Strategies on this topic. And it is a. Did I cut out there? Are you guys okay?

Yeah, that cut out on me a little bit.

Okay. I don't know why. I'm freezing up here. So you. I was just saying that this is the beginning of a three part journey for Titus three part webinar series. We are going to meeting next week as well and for the next phase of our webinar series and it is on the topic My computer's freezing up. I don't know why this is but we've got next week is lead like a Fostering Engagement through Diversity and inclusion. So November 5th at 11am Central featuring Adam Weber and Kambula Masaka of Emplify. So we will be sending out an email right following this if you would like an introduction to Beth Ridley. Personally I would happily make the introduction to her. Obviously she should put her contact details up.

Yeah. And Jonathan, I also put in a chat, a link I have a lot of like complimentary resources on how to get started with diversity, equity, inclusion. So I just put a link to that in the chat so people can have that too.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. That's now we've brought Beth Ridley in to help us on our journey. She has a number of different packages from individual sessions through kind of 18 month implementation.